


salvation

by maguna_stxrk



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:21:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24022798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maguna_stxrk/pseuds/maguna_stxrk
Summary: “Steve? Sweetheart? What’s wrong?”Steve has hogged the blanket all to himself, lying with his back to Tony and his body curled tight into a fetal position, bundled up in the thick fabric. He is also shivering, his body wracked with tremors and his breath coming out in sharp pants.“Lights, Jarvis,” Tony commands, his voice short and clipped. His surroundings slowly come into view as light begins to flood the room. He kneels on the bed and leans over to get a better look at Steve’s face, his heart twisting with worry when he sees that his features are all scrunched up like he’s in pain. His husband pleads incoherently, eyes still shut, his speech all slurred with sleep, “Please. Not—Not the ice. Please.”
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 8
Kudos: 189





	salvation

Tony wakes up in the middle of the night, feeling suddenly cold and bereft.

He glances over at the clock on the nightstand. 2:31 AM. 

He blinks down at his own body, wondering why the soft blanket previously covering him has disappeared. Then he registers the shallow breathing coming from beside him.

Concern and alarm immediately getting rid of his post-sleep haziness, he sits up on the bed.

“Steve? Sweetheart? What’s wrong?”

Steve has hogged the blanket all to himself, lying with his back to Tony and his body curled tight into a fetal position, bundled up in the thick fabric. He is also shivering, his body wracked with tremors and his breath coming out in sharp pants.

“Lights, Jarvis,” Tony commands, his voice short and clipped. His surroundings slowly come into view as light begins to flood the room. He kneels on the bed and leans over to get a better look at Steve’s face, his heart twisting with worry when he sees that his features are all scrunched up like he’s in pain. His husband pleads incoherently, eyes still shut, his speech all slurred with sleep, “Please. Not— Not the ice. Please.”

He is having a nightmare, Tony realizes.

“Baby, wake up. It’s okay, I’m here,” Tony whispers soothingly, his fingers reaching up to sweep Steve’s hair back, damp with sweat. “Shhh. Shhh. I’m right here with you.”

Steve’s eyes eventually blink open, slow and tired. Upon seeing Tony’s face, his hand shoots out to grip Tony’s arm. His eyes are unseeing and frantic with terror, like he’s awake but not really awake.

“It’s cold, Tony. It’s so cold,” he whimpers.

“I know, baby. I’m here. You’re okay.”

“My feet— Please. Please,” Steve pleads helplessly. Tony removes the blanket covering him and drags in a sharp intake of breath when his fingers come into contact with Steve’s feet, which are for some reason _absolutely freezing cold._

This won’t do. Tony sits up straight, an idea crossing his mind. The movement brings him away from Steve and his husband makes a displeased noise, the hand gripping his arm trying to pull him back closer. Tony leans close obligingly, planting a lingering kiss on his temple before leaning back, looking into Steve’s panic-stricken eyes. 

“Hey, I’m going to stand up. I’m not leaving you, okay? You’re coming with me.”

Steve blinks apprehensively, still looking scared and confused. Then he nods. 

Tony gets to his feet. He quickly makes his way around to his husband’s side of the bed and offers his hand out to Steve, wriggling his fingers expectantly. “Come on.”

Steve takes his hand silently, eyes never leaving his face, and uses Tony’s grip to lift himself up from the bed. With Steve’s hand safely in his, Tony starts leading him to the en-suite bathroom. 

The motion sensors in the bathroom pick up their movement almost immediately, the gentle yellow glow of the lights filling the room gradually. Tony leads Steve to the toilet, closing down the lid before gesturing at it. “Sit down, baby.”

Steve follows his instruction before looking up at Tony, looking for all the world like a lost child. His husband’s shoulders are slightly hunched up, like he’s trying to make himself smaller. His eyes carry a haunted look in them, like whatever he experienced in the dream he just had still lingers in his mind. Tony feels something warm bloom in his chest at Steve’s display of unadulterated trust in him, the way his husband lets himself be open and vulnerable in quiet moments like this in a way he wouldn’t allow himself to do with just about anyone else.

The Steve in front of him right now is for him to see, and only him. 

“Stay here while I get it ready for you, okay?” Tony cups Steve’s cheek, a thumb caressing the skin just under his right eye. He doesn’t question what “it” is, just leans into Tony’s touch and nods obediently.

Tony turns on the warm water in the bath, lets it run as he putters around the vast bathroom looking for products to put in the tub. He throws a bath bomb into the tub that is slowly filling up and ruffles the water with his fingers as he watches the product disintegrate. Tony smiles when he chances a glance at Steve, seeing the way his husband is watching the bubbles appear with quiet fascination. He puts in a few drops of lavender essential oil, the calming flowery scent wafting through the room. After checking that the water is pleasantly warm to the touch, he stands up, making his way over to Steve.

“Come on, sweetheart.” Steve stands up and Tony helps him strip out of his underwear before guiding him into the bath. He hears Steve let out a long and shaky breath the minute his body enters the warm water, the tension starting to bleed out of his muscles. 

Tony sits beside him on the bathroom floor, watching him with an arm resting on the edge of the tub. He scoops up some water in his hand and pours it over Steve’s half-submerged shoulder, doing it repeatedly for a few moments, mesmerized by the way the water runs down the smooth expanse of Steve’s skin. Somewhere around what must be his ninth or tenth time repeating the motion, he catches his husband’s gaze. Tony squeezes his shoulder, his thumb stroking the protruding line of his collarbone. 

“Feeling better?”

Steve nods wordlessly, but his eyes are still trained on Tony, soft and unwavering, so Tony asks:

“What? Something on my face?”

Steve shakes his head. He takes a deep breath and lets it out in one slow exhale, eyes contemplating Tony carefully, gaze roaming around his face. He takes the hand Tony has on his shoulder and brings it to his mouth to press an open-mouthed kiss on his knuckles, slow, solemn, and breathtakingly reverent. His lips linger on Tony’s skin for what seems like forever, and with his eyes tightly shut it almost looks like he is reciting a fervent prayer in the innermost recesses of his heart. 

When Steve finally opens his eyes, the baby blues Tony is so dangerously fond of are looking at him with the kind of gentle intensity that makes Tony think that Steve would not look away from him even if the world around them came crashing down in that instant.

Steve whispers to him, voice soft and quiet in the intimate tranquility between them:

“Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on Tumblr [@maguna-stxrk](https://maguna-stxrk.tumblr.com/) and let's talk all things stevetony! :)


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